Notes / Commercial Description:
Gotlandsdricka, meaning “Drink of the Good Land”, is believed to have been the beer of the Vikings. Our rendition of this ancient style is inspired by the traditional farmhouse ales once brewed on the island of Gotland, off the coast of Sweden. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and naturally-conditioned.

Reviews by Onemic:

More User Reviews:

Jester King Gotlandsdricka 750ml bottled poured into 1 liter Hofbrau stein. This beer is the result of research into the types of beer that the Vikings might have brewed. Jester King presents their interpretation.

Aroma: Starts off with an spicy, herbal, and earthy aroma. It develops into fresh cut grass and lemon . Finally, it transforms into a type of berry (juniper?) with a touch of smoked malts.

Taste: It is like delicious, smoked ribs in liquid form. A strange type of bitterness that is hop-like in nature, but tastes as though it comes from a different source. Not unpleasant, but just different. I believe the "sweet gale" ingredient may play a role in that.

Mouthfeel: Very dry from start to finish. This is a highly carbonated beer, probably being the 1st or 2nd most carbonated beer I've ever had. Body is creamy and full with a chewy finish.

Overall: Definitely an intriguing beer. This will pair amazing with some BBQ and/or smoked rack of ribs. Will definitely buy again when I get the urge to pillage a neighboring city.

Surprisingly light in body as I was expecting something darker from a smoked beer. Looks peach-skin in the body with a considerable haze. Foamy head quickly dissipates but a layer of lace remains. 4.25

Campfire level smoke with some tartness and lemon and bacon. Aggressively smoky and I fuck with it. 4.25

Wheaty, fruity, lemony before smoke overwhelms this and becomes campfire heavy, ashy, and a bit like smoked meat Perhaps a bit too much ashtray, even for this smoked beer lover. I notice a bit of chalky, plasticky flavor in the aftertaste, something I found in Snorkel as well. 3.75

Love the light body and fruity character and tartness, followed by an incredibly dry, ash-like finish. 3.75

It's intense and not for the weak of heart. But unique and pretty damn tasty.

I knew once I saw the label on this beer, as happens with every Jester King offering I see, that I'd have to get it. It caught my eye, the evil-looking Viking, so I took a closer look. I was curious of what the style of beer it was. But while the label explains what the beer is like, it doesn't say what it is. That intrigued me further. I have to say, Gotlandsdricka did not disappoint.

If I could best describe the look (and other qualities) of Gotlandsdricka, it'd be that it looks similar to a Belgian golden ale. It has a bright golden color, is cloudy, and produces a fine bubbly and frothy white head. Lacing was not present.

A nice toasted breadiness hits the nose first. It's moderately smoky, just right so that it doesn't mask any other aromatic characteristics. That plus the juniper/gale gives the smell an earthiness. The juniper/gale, and I should say that I can only guess at the characteristics of the gale since this is the first beer I've had that uses it, add a peppery, coniferous spice, not to be confused with the pine resin-like coniferous character present in most pale ales. The farmhouse yeast keeps the beer seeming like a Belgian golden to me. I get a bit of lemon zest in there too.

The taste is much like the smell. Right off the bat there's the toasty light malts with the juniper/gale spiciness following. The smokiness, what Jester King told me via Twitter is birchwood-smoked malt, comes right after, blending in with the toasty malt and spiciness so that you get a nice variety of flavors one after the other but all in harmony. There's an excellent grassy sugar sweetness throughout too that balances perfectly with the rest. Once I let Gotlandsdricka warm up a little, I was greeted with an incredibly well-balanced beer. It's sweet, smoky, spicy, and none of it overpowers the others. This is definitely an interesting beer to the taste buds.

Gotlandsdricka is also very drinkable, lighter in body, and has a nice medium carbonation. It's smooth as silk going down.

I definitely recommend this to anyone. Jester King says it's giving the beer "additional fermentation with wild yeast and souring bacteria. We presently have a version of Gotlandsdricka that we inoculated with wild yeast and bacteria aging in oak barrels." I can't wait!

T-smoke flavor up front but not very intimidating. I honestly am not a big fan of this style but I do enjoy this beer. Slightly funky with a bitter juniper berry preesence with some resin in the background,

M-heavy carbonation with a heavy body...blends. Slightly odd with the smoke.

O-a very nice take on the smoked beer style but a little more sweetness would balance this one out better and it is rather bitter.